Gerhard Menk
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Gerhard Menk (17 March 1946 – 18 October 2019) was a German historian and archivist.


Life

Born in Nisterau, after elementary school, Menk attended the Städtische Realschule in
Bad Marienberg Bad Marienberg (Westerwald) is a town in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and also the seat of the like-named Bad Marienberg (Verbandsgemeinde), ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality. Geography The communi ...
and took his
Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
at the Staatliches Neusprachliches Gymnasium
Altenkirchen Altenkirchen () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, capital of the Altenkirchen (district), district of Altenkirchen. It is located approximately 40 km east of Bonn and 50 km north of Koblenz. Altenkirchen is the seat of the ' ...
in spring 1966. Starting from the summer semester 1966, he studied first at the
Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...
, then went to Geneva for the summer semester 1969, where he studied at the
University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...
as well as at the
Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumni, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed hi ...
. Here were next to
Jacques Freymond Jacques Freymond (5 August 1911 – 4 May 1998) was a Switzerland, Swiss political science, political history, historian. He was born in Lausanne, and studied in his hometown as well as in München, University of Paris, Sorbonne and Sciences Po. ...
(1911-1998), especially the former Czechoslovak Foreign Minister
Jiří Hájek Jiří Hájek (; 6 June 1913 in Krhanice near Benešov – 22 October 1993 in Prague) was a Czech politician and diplomat. Together with Václav Havel, Zdeněk Mlynář, and Pavel Kohout, Hájek was one of the founding members and architect ...
and
Saul Friedländer Saul Friedländer (; born October 11, 1932) is a Czech-born Jewish historian and a professor emeritus of history at UCLA. Biography Saul Friedländer was born in Prague to a family of German-speaking Jews. He was raised in France and lived thr ...
his academic teachers. For the winter semester 1969/70 he moved to the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
, where his academic teachers were
Gerald Stourzh Gerald Stourzh (born 15 May 1929 in Vienna, Austria) is an Austrian historian who studies modern history, especially the history of North America, of Austria, of political ideas, of constitutions and especially of human rights. He taught, as a p ...
, Heinrich Lutz and
Herwig Wolfram Herwig Wolfram (born 14 February 1934) is an Austrian historian who is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History and Auxiliary Sciences of History at the University of Vienna and the former Director of the . He is a leading member of the Vienna Schoo ...
. In the summer semester of 1970 he returned to the University of Frankfurt to take the first
Staatsexamen The ("state examination" or "exam by state"; pl.: ''Staatsexamina'') is a German government licensing examination that future physicians, dentists, physical therapists, teachers, research librarians, archivists, pharmacists, food chemists, psyc ...
for the teaching profession at grammar schools in 1971 (among others
Jochen Bleicken Jochen Bleicken (3 September 1926 in Westerland, Sylt – 24 February 2005 in Hamburg) was a German professor of ancient history. Biography The son of a salesman, Bleicken studied from 1948 to 1954 history and classical philology at the unive ...
and Friedrich Hermann Schubert). From the summer of 1971 Menk began his dissertation in Frankfurt under Friedrich Hermann Schubert, with a scholarship from the
Fritz Thyssen Foundation The Fritz Thyssen Foundation () is a private nonprofit foundation in Germany, created on 7 July 1959 by Amélie Thyssen and Anita Gräfin Zichy-Thyssen and named in memory of prominent iron and steel manufacturer August Thyssen and his son Fritz, ...
allowing him to undertake extensive research trips to the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, and finally to the United States. At the same time he was a research assistant and assistant at the History Department of the university with
Notker Hammerstein Notker Hammerstein (3 October 1930 − 13 March 2024) was a German historian. His research interests were mainly in the field of and history of science as well as the history of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Life Born in Offenbac ...
. In 1975 he received his doctorate with the
thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
: ''Die Hohe Schule Herborn in ihrer Frühzeit 1584-1660'', which was published in 1981 by the Historical Commission for Nassau. In 1975 Menk began an archival clerkship in the , which he completed with the Archivar
Staatsexamen The ("state examination" or "exam by state"; pl.: ''Staatsexamina'') is a German government licensing examination that future physicians, dentists, physical therapists, teachers, research librarians, archivists, pharmacists, food chemists, psyc ...
in September 1977 at the . Starting from October 1977 he registered for the Land Hessen files of the
OMGUS The Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS; ) was the United States military-established government created shortly after the end of hostilities in occupied Germany in World War II. Under General Lucius D. Clay, it administered the ...
in Washington D. C. At the beginning of 1978 he was taken over into the
Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg The Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg (HStAM, "Hessian State Archives in Marburg") is one of the three archives of the Hessisches Landesarchiv and is based in Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, G ...
. From 1979 he was a lecturer at the Archivschule Marburg and member of the examination board. In 1981, he participated in the three-month stage of the Archives Nationales in Paris, where he acted as spokesman. In 1981 he was appointed, as the only specialist historian, to co-editor of the ''Geschichtsblätter für Waldeck''. He has left his mark on this magazine over two decades through numerous articles. In addition, he published several bio- and monographs on the history of the
Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont The County of Waldeck (later the Principality of Waldeck and Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and its successors from the late 12th century until 1929. In 1349 the county gained Imperial immediacy and ...
. In particular, the most recently published studies on the Waldeck politician and student council Otto Hufnagel and on "Waldeck in the Third Reich" attracted a great deal of attention. In 1986 Menk took over a teaching position at the
University of Gießen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...
, in 2005 he was appointed honorary professor there; also in 2005 he received the science prize of the . As chairman of the branch association Marburg of the (1998-2007), Menk conducted numerous colloquia, including on "The University of Marburg in the 1920s", on Hessian chronicles, the Greifswald professor and church historian from Waldeck Victor Schultze as well as on the Hessian Minister of Culture and judge at the Federal Constitutional Court
Erwin Stein Erwin Stein (7 November 188519 July 1958) was an Austrian musician and writer, prominent as a pupil and friend of Arnold Schoenberg, with whom he studied between 1906 and 1910.Andreas Hedwig Andreas Hedwig (born in 1959) is a German archivist and since 2014 the head of the Hessian State Archive. Life Born in Leverkusen, Hedwig completed a and completed this in 1986 with a second Staatsexamen. He then received his doctorate in 1989. ...
): ''Erwin Stein (1903–1992). Politisches Wirken und Ideale eines hessischen Nachkriegspolitikers'', Marburg 2004. * as co-editor (together with Wilhelm A. Eckhardt): ''Christian Wolff und die hessischen Universitäten'', Marburg 2004 (Beiträge zur hessischen Geschichte 18). * ''Ein "antiquitätischer Herr." Leben und Werk des hessischen Denkmalpflegers und technischen Pioniers Ludwig Bickell (1838-1901)''. Marburg 2005; also in , Gerhard Menk (ed.): ''Ludwig Bickell. Ein Denkmalpfleger der ersten Stunde'', Stuttgart 2005. * ''Vom Bismarckianer zum Liberalen. Der Politiker und Lehrer Otto Hufnagel (1885–1944) in Waldeck und Frankfurt am Main''. 2 volumes, Marburg 2006. * ''Landesgeschichte, Archivwesen und Politik. Der hessische Landeshistoriker und Archivar Karl Ernst Demandt (1909–1990)'', Marburg 2009. * ''Waldeck im Dritten Reich. Voraussetzungen und Wirken des Nationalsozialismus im hessischen Norden'', Wiesbaden-Korbach 2010. * ''Zwischen Kanzel und Katheder. – Protestantische Pfarrer- und Professorenprofile vom 16. bis 20. Jahrhundert – Ausgewählte Aufsätze'', Marburg 2011. * as editor:
Friedrich Uhlhorn Friedrich Uhlhorn (17 June 1894 – 24 July 1978) was an honorary professor at the Philipps-Universität Marburg, whose scientific focus was on the history of the State of Hesse and was also known for his work outside Hesse. His special scientif ...
: ''Geschichte der Grafen von Solms zwischen Reformation und Westfälischem Frieden.'' Darmstadt 2011. * ''Politischer Liberalismus in Hessen zwischen Weimarer Republik und Nachkriegszeit – Rudolf Büttner, Margarete Grippentrog und die Deutsche Demokratische Partei Fuldas.''''Politischer Liberalismus in Hessen zwischen Weimarer Republik und Nachkriegszeit – Rudolf Büttner, Margarete Grippentrog und die Deutsche Demokratische Partei Fuldas.''
on WorldCat Fulda 2012, . Articles and archival publications are listed on the website of the Justus Liebig University (see under Weblinks).


Literature

*
Andreas Hedwig Andreas Hedwig (born in 1959) is a German archivist and since 2014 the head of the Hessian State Archive. Life Born in Leverkusen, Hedwig completed a and completed this in 1986 with a second Staatsexamen. He then received his doctorate in 1989. ...
: ''Gerhard Menk im Ruhestand''. In ' 11/1, 2011, S. 69f.


References


External links

*
Gerhard Menk auf der Website der Universität Gießen
with list of book publications, essays (in selection) and organization of conferences.
Obituary of the Historischen Instituts der Universität Gießen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menk, Gerhard 1946 births 2019 deaths Writers from Rhineland-Palatinate 20th-century German historians 21st-century German historians German archivists Academic staff of the University of Giessen Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni